Qalʿat Banī Ḥammād

(515 words)

Qalʿat Banī Ḥammād (also known as Qalʿat Ḥammād and Qalʿat Abī Ṭawīl) was the capital of the Hammadid dynasty in the Central Maghreb (today Algeria) during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. The fortified town, which today lies in ruins, sits in the Maadid Mountains and dominates the Hodna Plain 500 meters (1,640 feet) below. The site was chosen by Ḥammād ibn Buluggīn in 1008 as his stronghold when he broke from the authority of his nephew, the Zirid ruler in Qayrawan, Bādīs ibn al-Manṣūr (r. 996–1016). At first, the population of the town was mainly made up of Ḥammād’s fel…